Conventionally, some vehicles such as automobiles are equipped with a power sliding door apparatus (opening and closing apparatus), which opens and closes a door opening on a side on a side with a door panel (an opening and closing body) slid by drive force, for example, of a motor. Such a power sliding door apparatus has a function for preventing an object from being caught between the door panel and the edge of the door opening.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-300924 discloses a power sliding door apparatus that includes a capacitance sensor (sensor body) with a sensor electrode. The capacitance sensor is fixed to the front end of the door panel with a sensor support member. The capacitance sensor is electrically connected to a capacitance detector. The capacitance detector detects changes in the capacitance of the capacitance sensor using the sensor electrode. In this power sliding door apparatus, changes of the capacitance of the capacitance sensor is detected by using the sensor electrode. When an object it is detected that an object is close to the front end of the door panel based on the detected capacitance changes, the motor is controlled to stop the sliding of the door panel.
Changes in the capacitance of the capacitance sensor detected by using the sensor electrode is subtle when an object has approached the front end of the door panel. Therefore, when the capacitance of the capacitance sensor detected by using the sensor electrode is changed due to disturbance, the existence of an object can be erroneously detected. Factors of disturbance include changes in the stray capacity caused by wiring in the vehicle, changes in the impedance of the door panel, and changes in the electrical potential of the door panel caused by electrification. Therefore, to prevent erroneous detection caused by disturbance, the sensor support member of the power sliding door apparatus of the above publication includes a guard electrode, which is maintained at the same voltage as the sensor electrode. The guard electrode is made of conductive resin material, and is integrally formed with insulating resin material forming the sensor support member. The guard electrode is in contact with a reinforcing member that is made of a conductive metal plate embedded in the insulating resin material.
Although the above publication describes that the sensor support member is formed by extrusion molding, no specific method for manufacturing is disclosed. When manufacturing the sensor support member having the guard electrode by the extrusion molding, two different resin materials, which are insulating resin material and conductive resin material, need to be integrated and formed into desired shapes. This is expected to complicate the manufacture of the sensor support member. Thus, there is a demand for a method that facilitates the manufacture of sensor support members.